Trauma-informed parenting:
5-Week mom’s group
For mamas who want to parent differently.
Do you consider yourself a gentle or conscious parent who wants to break the chain of intergenerational trauma? Are you on a healing journey? Do you often feel triggered by your child’s behaviour?
If you answered yes to any of these, I invite you to join me for a 5-week mom’s group. This group is for mamas who are open to honestly explore their own triggers, how their children activate them, and get a deeper understanding of how their children’s challenging behaviour may mirror their parent’s inner world.
This 5-week series includes
1) psychoeducation on what needs all children are born with, what happens to our children (and what happened to us as children) when these needs don’t get met, and how we can meet these needs in today’s world and our particular family,
2) an exploration of how our children’s behaviour shows us our own triggers & pain and also is often a sign that we are inadvertently passing on our own trauma – even if we parent (on the outside) completely differently from our own parents, and
3) exploring paths to cultivate compassion, forgiveness, and love for ourselves, and ways to be more present and joyous with our children.
I believe that all parents/caregivers love their children, and that any struggles parents face are not their fault. But it is our responsibility and a beautiful opportunity to heal more fully to honestly face and change the ways in which we may inadvertently and unconsciously pass on our own trauma.
This group is intended for moms of children of all ages (even when our children are already adults, we can still completely change our relationship with them).
We will gain a deep understanding of what children’s needs are (which have been the same over our evolutionary history, regardless of where people lived). Did you know that over most of our evolutionary history, no matter where in the world people lived, children and parents lived together in peace and harmony, children were happy and free, they voluntarily cooperated, went to sleep when they were tired, shared, and became independent much sooner? Parents were able to be fully present, compassionate, intuitively knew how to parent, and didn’t feel constantly overwhelmed.
We will explore our own triggers as moms and how they can get in the way of meeting our children’s needs.
Beyond understanding how our triggers get in the way of being calm and compassionate when our children act out in some way, we will dive deeply into our own role in our children’s behaviour and emotions in the first place. Did you know that for most of our evolutionary history, children weren’t constantly dysregulated and acted out? We have come to believe this is part of normal child development and an underdeveloped brain. But the extent of dysregulation we see, is actually a sign of disconnection our children feel.
In my experience with my child, more often than not, it is our own inner state that creates outbursts in our children. It may be hard to see at first, but when we look honestly and with compassion for ourselves, we can see the truth of this.
While this can be painful, it also offers a beautiful opportunity to reshape our daily life to be full of love and joy, with much fewer outbursts, children that feel mostly happy and free, and that truly stop taking on their family’s intergenerational trauma.
We will gather in a small group of women. Each week, I will cover a brief theoretical part to give a deeper understanding of children’s needs, and how we can meet them. Each week, we will also explore relevant issues such as our own experiences, our upbringing and triggers, why it can be difficult for us to stay calm in the moment, ways to heal, and how we may be often the origin of our child’s emotional state. This will be a deeper exploration than just “I yelled” and may bring to light things we have never thought about or been aware of.
My hope is to create a safe container where everyone feels held, accepted unconditionally, and free to bring their own inner child and shadow side to light. We can show all parts of us love and compassion. Doing so and witnessing in a group setting can itself be very healing.
With love, Anita
Next TIME: Sometime in spring 2025
LOCATION: In the Comox Valley, Vancouver Island. If you cannot attend in person but would like to participate, please reach out.
COST: Sliding Scale, $89-$179 (no questions asked)
To register or get more information, you can email me.
If you have a group of moms (between 5-8) that would like to do this workshop together, feel free to reach out. I am happy to find a time that works either in person or over Zoom.
What other moms say about 5-week trauma-informed parenting workshop
From Juliana Grubwieser, Comox Valley, BC
Anita is a rare gem. She is so relatable and real and she truly loves her work. Her understanding of the methods and material she is sharing is grounded and steady. She has helped me tremendously in understanding my parenting journey, from gaining deep insights into the ways my own childhood affected me and affects the way I parent, to understanding the behaviors of my own children now. The whole process is wrapped in compassion. I very highly recommend her offerings. They are accessible and such a breath of fresh air in this age of so much information. She makes things simple, and touches potentially hard truths with a gentle and compassionate understanding.